Automatic self-dropping trolley-pole.



J. DELANE.

AUTOMATIC SELF DROPPING TROLLEY PLE.

APPLIOATION lILED MAB.. 23, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEBTE--SHBET 1.

Z/f-esses i lIN1/villorafef No. 743378. PATBNTED Nov. s, 19o-a.

LDBLANB.

AUTOMATIC SELF DROPPING TROLLEY POLE. .APPLITION FILED MAB. 23, 1903. No MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHB'BT 2.

Ei E.

wzflzesses: l IN1/enfer s f i() 9 777. @ma

z'o rn e y.

ivo. 'maeva UNITED STATES Patented November 3, 19O.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN DELANE, OF TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,378, dated November 3, 1903.

Application filed March 23, 1903. Serial No. 149,047. (No model.)

1o others skilled in the art to which it apper- Ifs tains to make and use the same reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in trolley-poles and to that class of trolley-poles used upon electric cars; and the objects of my invention are, first, to provide a trolleypole which will drop itself automatically imzo mediately upon the trolley-wheel becoming 'disengaged from the supply-wire; second, to provide a trolley-pole which' will automatic- -ally drop itself when disengaged from the supply-wire to a horizontal position and whichwill check itself in its fall before striking the roof of the car upon which it is mounted; third, to provide a trolley-pole'which by reason of its automatic drop will be much less liable to injury in case of accidents than other 'o trolley-poles used heretofore; fourth, to provide a trolley-pole which will not spring up- 'ward and catch upon cross-wires and other overhead mechanism, thereby greatly less- 'ening the danger from broken live wires, and,

35 Iifth, to provide a trolley-pole which can be more easily, quickly, and safely replaced when accidentally disengaged from the supply-wire than other trolley-poles used prior to my invention. These objects I attain by 4o means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure l illustrates my trolley-pole when elevated and engaging a supply-wire. Fig. 2 illustrates my trolley-pole when depressed 5 or disengaged. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the upper end of my trolley-pole and the mechanism mounted thereon. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the socket il and the standard A upon which my trolley-pole is mounted. 'o Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several view's.

The letter rm, indicates the arm or pole proper, which is constructed of wood, metal, or any other suitable material.

The letter N indicates a lever which, as

shown in Fig. 3, consists of acylndrical portion r,adapted to receive any form of trolleywheel harp s, and two dat arms n, which are pendent from the portion r inthe form ofa fork and adapted to fit closely upon either side of the upper end of the arm fm, to which they are movably attached by means of a collar fu, which is mounted stationarily upon the arm m. A small grooved pulley p is suspended within the fork formed by the arms n immediately below the portion r, and a metallic loop o is movably attached to the outside of either of the arms of the fork for the purpose of attaching the cable j to the lever N. i The letter t' indicates a socket which is adapted to receive and support the base of the arm m and which is provided-with a projecting loopf, adapted to support a pulley g, near the outer end thereof, and an arch h, adapted to hold the end of the hereinaftermentioned cable j. The sockett'is perforated near the bottom thereof for the purpose of receiving the bolt e, whereby it isV held in hinge-like connection with the fork of the standard a.

The letter a indicates a standard which consists of a shank a', adapted to t into any form of trolley-stand used upon electric cars, two upwardly-projecting arms d, which form a fork adapted to receive and support, by means of the bolt e, journaled therein, the socket i, and the loop b, projecting therefrom at right angles immediately below the forklike arms d. The loop b supports a pulley c near the forward end'thereof for the purpose hereinafter set forth. A rod 2 is movably attached to the loop b by means of a bolt 3 e and passes upward through a loop fand isprovided with a threaded nut 4 upon the free end thereof, a strong spiral spring 5, and a loose washer 6. rlhe spring is held in normal position between the nut 4L and washer 6, and the washer 6 rides loosely upon the top of the loop f. When the trolley-arm falls, the spring will be compressed by the loop f, whereby the fall of the trolley-armrwill be gradually checked and stopped in any desired position, the strength of the spring being adjusted by the threaded nut 4.

The letterj indicates a cable of any suitable material, one end of which is attached to the arch hof the loopf` from which point the cable passes through the loop b, between the bolt 3 and the pulley c of the loop Z), around the pulley c, to and over the forward side of the pulley g of the loopf, and thence t0 the loop o, to which it is attached. A washerj is attached to the cable j for the purpose of checking the passage of the cable through the loopfat any desired point and incidentally preventing the arm or pole m from falling too far and striking the top of the car.

The letter q indicates a cable of any suitable material, one end of which is attached to the upper end of the trolley-arm fm, from which point it passes over the pulleyp from the forward side and between the arms n, thence to the platform of the car, where it is attached within reach of the conductor of the car.

The length of the two loops f and b and incidentally the relative positions of the pul leys g and c and the length of the cable j are so proportioned relatively to the distance between the point of attachment of the arms 'n of the lever N to the pole to the pointof attachment of the loop o to the armsfnl that when the trolley-arm m lies in a horizon tal position the cablejwill pull the leverN to an upright position at an acute angle to the forward end of the trolley-arm, as shown in Fig. 2, and will prevent the trolley-arm from falling below a horizontal position, and when the lever N is pulled backward and down until it is parallel with the axis of the trolley-arm by means of the cable q then the tension of the cablej, aided by thespring 5, willdraw the two loopsband f together, thereby raising the trolley-arm upward until ,the trolley-wheel w engages the supply-wire whereby the lever N and the trolley-arm will be held parallel one to the other. In case the trolley-wheel should become disengaged from the supply-wire the restraining power of the su pply-wire will be re-l moved and the tension of the cablej will immediately draw the lever N forward and incidentally out of line with the trolley-arm, which will immediately fall to a horizontal position by reason of its own weight. When the trolley-pole becomes disengaged, it is only necessary for the conductor to pull upon the cable q, thereby drawing the lever N backward and down until it is again parallelwth the trolley-arm, when the tension of the cablej will pull the trolley-arm upward until it engages the supply-wire, when the cable q may be released. K

The advantages claimed for my invention over other'like trolley-poles used prior hereto are, first, my trolley-pole when accidentally disengaged from the supply-wire immediately drops of its own weight without danger of catching upon overhead wires or other fixtures and without the assistance of the conductor; second, by reason of the self-action of my trolley-pole when accidentally disengaged the danger of damage tothe trolleypole is obviated and the checking of the trolley-pole when falling in a horizontal position prevents the pole from striking and injuring the top of the car, thereby obviating a large expense due to repairs necessary when the prior forms of trolley-poles are used.

I am aware that the use of a trolley-pole as a means of conducting power from supplywires to cars is not new, and my trolley-pole is adapted'to carry any form of trolley-wheel and to be mounted upon any of the wellknown forms of trolley-stands, and I therefore make no broad claims upon such appliances; but,

What I do claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a trolley-pole, the combination ofa trolley-arm fm, which is free to fall of its own weight, when disengaged, with a lever N, mounted upon said arm fm and adapted to carry a trolley-wheel, the socket i and the standard a in hinge-like'connection with each other, and adapted to support the trolleyarm m, the pulleys g and c mounted in the loops fand b,respectively,the rod 2 and spring 5 and the cables j and q, adapted to control the trolley-arm, all substantially as described and shown and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a trolley-pole, the combination of a trolley-arm m, the lever N mounted upon said trolley-arm, and adapted to be drawn into and out of line with the axis of the trolley-arm and to support a trolley-wheel upon the outer end thereof, with the socket adapted to support the trolley-arm, and provided with the projecting loop f, pulley g and arch h, the standard a adapted to support the socket t' with which it has hinge-like connection, and provided with the projecting loop b, the rod 2 and spring 5, and the pulley c, and the cablesj and q adapted to control the trolley-arm, said trolley-arm being free to fall when disengaged by the force of gravity, all substantially as described and for the purpose set forth. y

3. In a trolley-pole, the combination of a trolley-arm fm, adapted to fall when disengaged of its own weight, and provided near its free end with a bifurcated lever N, which is movably attached to the arm m by means of the collar fv, and which is provided with'a solid portion r adapted to support a trolleywheel, a pulley p mounted between the arms n of the lever N and the loop 0 adapted to hold the cable j, with the socket t adapted to support the trolley-arm, and provided with the loop f, the pulley g and the arch h, the standard a in hinge-like connection with and supporting the socket t', and provided with the loop b, the rod 2 and spring 5, the pulley c and the shank a', the cable j attached to the arch h of the loopfand to the loop o of the lever N and operating over the pulleys g and c, and the cable q attached to the upper end of the .trolley-arm and passing over the pulley p downward to the car-platform, and adapted lOO IIO

to operate the trolley-pole, all substantially as described and shown and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a trolley-pole, the combination of a trolley-arm m, with the lever N, movably attached thereto, the pulley'p mounted in said lever N, and the loop o attached to said lever, with the socket i and standard a in hinge-like connection, and provided respectively with the loops f and b and the pulleysg and c, the arch h integral with the loop f, the rod 2, the spring 5, the cable j, one end of which is attached to the loop 0 of the lever N and the l other to the arch h and which passes over the pulleys g and c, as shown, and adapted to control the action of the trolley-arm, the cable q attached to the free end of the arm m and passing over the pulley p, downward to the car-platform and adapted to operate the lever r, and the Washer or check j adj ustably attached to the cable j, all substantially as described and shown and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN DELANE.

Witnesses:

SYDNEY B. DAVIS, GEO. M. DAVIS. 

